Post Script
by Mag68
Summary: A response to a BWR challenge issed by Phishes. Takes place in S1 - P.S. I Lo... and Love, Daisies and Troubadors. Probably 2 - 3 chapters.
1. Scorpio

**A/N: Filo has been scanning the BWR challenges again, and came up with this one issued by Phishes. She handed it off to me, and I ran with it. Here's a chapter that basically completes the challenge, but I believe I will go on. What do you think? I will post the challenge at the bottom of the page.**

**Scorpio**

"Hey," Lorelai said wonderingly as she spotted Luke stepping out of Le Chat Club.

"Oh, hey," he answered self consciously.

Lorelai quirked an eyebrow at the small shopping bag clutched in his hand and asked, "Doing a little shopping?"

Luke shrugged and shifted uncomfortably as he said, "Yeah, I just had a couple things to pick up."

Lorelai snorted and asked, "At the cat club?"

"Yeah," he answered defensively.

Lorelai fixed him with a pointed stare and asked again, "You had a couple things to pick up at the cat club?"

"Yeah I did, okay?" he answered gruffly

Lorelai nodded slowly and said, "Okay, I just never took you for a cat lover, a 97 year old woman, or…" she trailed off, her curiosity getting the better of her ability to quip. "Hey what'd you buy?" she asked.

"Nothing," said quickly, trying to hide the bag from her prying eyes.

"You've got a little bag there," she pointed out helpfully.

"I know that," he snapped.

Lorelai grinned and said leadingly, "It's got a cat paw stamped on it and a little cat nip bow." Luke sighed and handed over the bag reluctantly. "Wise man," she said with a smirk. Lorelai pulled a cat shaped pot holder out of the bag and said, "Wow, pot holders."

"Yes," Luke hissed, wishing the ground would open up and swallow him.

Lorelai snickered and said, "Little kitty pot holders," as she pushed the button that made one meow. She looked up at him with a startled expression and said, "They meow."

"It's a present," Luke explained impatiently.

Lorelai lifted an eyebrow and asked, "For someone you hate?"

Luke sighed and said, "It's Rachel's birthday, okay? And don't say anything, she doesn't want anybody to know. She hates birthdays," he insisted.

Lorelai giggled and said, "Not as much as she's gonna hate these pot holders."

Luke rolled his eyes in exasperation and said, "I don't know how to buy gifts, okay, I don't like to buy gifts. I don't like getting gifts. I mean, this whole gift giving and getting process is completely insane," he said as he gestured wildly.

Lorelai grinned and stood back a little as she said, "The rant begins!"

Luke pressed his fingers to his chest and said, "I mean suddenly, on a certain date, the level of my affection for a person isn't measured by the way that I treat them or what we share."

Lorelai shook her head and gasped, "No!"

Luke shook his head as he flung an arm out and ranted, "I mean just because I didn't buy her furry slippers or a giant shoe tree, all of a sudden, I suck."

Feeling a little sorry for him, Lorelai jumped in and said, "Luke, stop. You know you cannot give her these pot holders."

Luke sighed heavily and hung his head as he said, "Yeah I know."

"Why don't you go to the mall and walk around a little?" she suggested.

Luke shook his head violently and said, "No. No malls."

"Luke," she tried to interject, sensing another rant coming on.

"I hate malls," he snarled.

Lorelai could not suppress her smile as she said, "Ladies and gentlemen, rant number two."

Luke started to list reasons off on his fingers. "They underpay employees and overprice merchandise, they contribute to urban sprawl, they encourage materialism, and the parking's a horror. You drive in, you pay a buck, and even if you're only there for five…" he stopped suddenly as Lorelai held her palm up to his face.

"Okay, Emma Goldman, I'll tell you what. I'll go for you," she offered.

Luke eyed her suspiciously as he asked, "You're gonna shop for me?"

Lorelai shrugged and said, "I've got the day off tomorrow. I was gonna go anyway."

"You're serious?" he asked cautiously.

Lorelai nodded and said, "I'll go get a bunch of stuff, all returnable. I'll bring it to you. You can pick what you want and the rest I'll return. I'll do all the work; all you'll have to do is point," she said magnanimously.

"Point," Luke repeated in an awed tone.

Lorelai smirked and said, "One finger, preferably your index."

Luke chewed the inside of his cheek as he thought it through and then said, "I don't know."

Lorelai softened her tone as she said, "Luke, this is the first special occasion you and Rachel have shared since she's been back. Don't you want to give her something nice?"

Mildly insulted by her lack of faith in him, Luke said, "Well I am taking her out to dinner."

"Luke," she cajoled gently.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck tiredly as he said in a defeated tone, "Yeah, I gotta get her something nice."

Lorelai nodded her agreement as she said, "So then, let me help."

Luke smiled with relief and said, "All right, thank you."

Lorelai eyed the pot holders disdainfully as she said, "Oh, you're welcome."

Luke started to dig his wallet out of his back pocket as he said, "Nothing too out there, okay? She's not into all that trendy stuff. She likes simple, clean nature, okay. Elephants, candles, okay. Oh hey, if you can find a candle shaped like an elephant, that would…" he trailed off as he tried to free his credit card from the wallet's hidey hole with two fingers and ended up scattering various business cards and such on the ground.

"You know, Luke, that's what all of those handy slots are for just inside of the wallet," Lorelai told him as she pointed to the open billfold in his hand.

"If someone pickpockets you, they usually take the cash and toss the wallet into a trash can. This way, they don't see the credit cards," he grumbled as he bent over to try to retrieve what had been spilled.

"Have you been pickpocketed often?" she asked as she stepped on a Doose's Market discount card to stop it from blowing away. "Do you get fondled so often that you don't notice another person fumbling around in your back pocket?" she asked with a laugh as she bent over to help him. When Luke grunted in response, Lorelai gathered another few cards and said, "Okay, you know what, I've got the shopping thing under control, so you can tuck that bad boy back in its safe house."

"Okay, thanks," Luke mumbled as he picked up his seldom used Stars Hollow Video card.

Lorelai squared the little cards that she held in her palm as she said, "Okay, you'll have to get rid of these," as she waved the bag holding the pot holders at him. When he took the bag from her hand, she reached for his credit card but Luke pulled it away from her as he nodded to the cards in her hand. Lorelai glanced down to see what she was holding and laughed as she said, "How old is this discount card?"

Luke grinned and said, "Taylor printed them up a couple of years ago and forgot to put an expiration date on them. I'm lulling him into a false sense of security."

She flipped to the next card and saw a well worn laminated gym membership. "Wow, Gold's Gym. Are you a muscle man, Luke?" she asked as she turned the ancient card over to look at the back. She noticed a slightly yellowed piece of newsprint that was stuck to the plastic on the back and pried it up gently with her fingernail.

She looked up in time to see, Luke's jaw drop slightly and then he cleared his throat and said, "Just give them back."

Lorelai's eyebrows shot up as she saw the panicked expression on his face and she danced away from him a few steps as she held the folded paper out of his reach. "Why so embarrassed? Is it a personal ad, Luke?" she asked with a grin. She shook her head mockingly as she unfolded it and asked, "Are you a SMW seeking a SWF for fun, shared experiences and possibly more?" she teased as she dropped her eyes to the scrap in her hand.

She scanned the newsprint and read:

**Scorpio (October 22 – November 21)**_Patience is not your biggest virtue, Scorpio, but hang on just a little longer. Will you open the door when opportunity knocks? Your heart's desire may be standing right in front of you. Keep your eyes open. Today may be the day._

Lorelai blinked in surprise when she saw her own haphazard printing just beneath the horoscope. She peered at it closely and read aloud, "You will meet an annoying woman today. Give her coffee and she will go away." Lorelai looked up at him blankly and said, "I wrote this."

"Yes," Luke answered with a slight nod.

Her brow creased in confusion as she stared at the slip between her fingers asked, "When did I write this?"

"The first time you ever came into the diner," Luke said softly.

Lorelai cocked her head as she looked up at him and asked, "The first time?" When Luke nodded, she asked, "Why did you keep it?"

Luke shrugged slightly and said, "You told me to. You said to put it in my wallet, and that one day it would bring me luck."

"I did?" she asked slowly. As the memory of that day came trickling back to her she smiled softly and said, "I did."

"Yep," Luke said as he reached out and gently took the horoscope and the rest of the forgotten cards from her fingers.

"You kept this," she said as she nodded to it. "You kept this in your wallet?" she asked as she watched him fold it carefully and put everything back into the hidden slot. "That was a long time ago," she said with a frown.

"About four years," Luke answered gruffly. He slipped the credit card into one of the empty slots just inside of his wallet and said, "You know, I can take care of the thing."

"The thing?" Lorelai asked with a confused shake of her head.

"The shopping thing," Luke answered.

"Oh," Lorelai said quickly as she snapped back to reality. Lorelai watched as he shoved his wallet back into the back pocket of his jeans and said, "Has it?"

"Has what what?" Luke asked.

"Has it brought you luck?" Lorelai asked him curiously. When she finally looked up at him, she laughed nervously and said, "Of course it has. Rachel's back. You're happy."

"Well," Luke equivocated as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I mean, that's good, right?" Lorelai asked with a quick bob of her head. "That's what you wanted. See? Good luck," she asserted, ignoring the twinge she felt in the pit of her stomach.

Luke stared at her for a moment and then said, "I never said that was what I wanted. You said that."

Lorelai shook her head vehemently and said, "I did not."

Luke started to get agitated as he said, "Yes, you did. And Patty did, and Taylor and Babette, and the whole damn town. Rachel told me what I wanted to hear, and I did the same thing I always do, I let it happen," he said loudly.

"Why are you getting mad at me?" Lorelai asked in a bewildered tone.

"I'm not," he shouted.

Lorelai stepped back and held up her hand as she said, "I'd say that you are."

"I'm mad at me," he said as he squeezed his eyes shut. He shook his head to clear it and held up the shopping bag as he said, "She likes cats. She'll like the pot holders," as he spun on his heel and began to stalk toward the diner.

"Wait," Lorelai said as she jogged after him, knowing that something was happening that she couldn't let go. She snagged his arm in her hand and spun him around to face her again. When he looked at her worried face, his shoulders slumped and he stopped dead in his tracks. He took a deep breath, tipped his head back and stared up at the sky, praying for divine intervention. "If you're not happy, then don't do it. Don't be with her," Lorelai said earnestly.

Luke slowly lowered his head to look at her and said, "Opportunity knocked, I didn't answer. It's my own fault."

"Luke, it's a stupid horoscope. I thought that you believed that people make their own luck," she told him.

Luke tilted his head to the side and stared at her for a moment before he spoke. "And if I told you that I've been waiting four years for this good luck," he started to say in a hoarse voice. Luke cleared his throat and turned to look her square in the eye as he said, "What if it was standing right in front of me?" He glanced down at the hand that grasped his arm tightly. "If I said that, would it bring good luck, or bad luck?"

Lorelai's eyes searched his face, her heart hammering in her chest as she slowly said, "It could be good." She bit her lip and then asked, "Is that what you're saying? I mean, are you saying what I think you're saying?" she amended quickly.

Luke looked at her steadily and said, "Patience is not my biggest virtue. I need you to tell me right now. Should I open that door?" he asked cautiously. When she stared at him in wonder, he said, "My eyes are wide open, Lorelai. Is today the day?" he asked, his heart in his throat.

"Yes," she whispered before her brain was fully engaged. "I mean," she stammered as she shook her head hard to clear it. She looked up at him worriedly and said, "There are, um, complications. Uh, other people."

Luke nodded and said, "Yes, there are."

"Me?" she asked softly, still unsure.

"You," he answered in a firm tone.

"What about, um, what do we do about the, uh, complications?" she asked.

"We'd have to deal with them," Luke answered carefully.

Lorelai blinked rapidly as she glanced down at the small shopping bag clutched in his hand. She nodded to it and said, "Well, that should do it for you." She looked up at him and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Luke answered simply.

Lorelai nodded and said, "Okay then. Okay." She smiled at him quizzically and asked, "Really?"

"Really," Luke said with a smile of his own twitching his lips.

Lorelai gasped and pressed her fingers to her lips as she said, "But, it's her birthday."

"Yeah, tomorrow," Luke said in a voice tinged with regret.

"Not today or tomorrow," she told him gently. "But soon," she added.

Luke nodded and said, "Soon."

"Like the day after her birthday, or at midnight tomorrow night," Lorelai suggested as she took her hand from his arm.

"Midnight?" he asked with a nervous laugh.

"Technically not her birthday," Lorelai pointed out.

Luke winced and said, "I think the day after would be better."

Lorelai nodded and said, "Okay. Well, I guess I need to go buy some pot holders for someone. I hope that you didn't get the last set," she said as she glanced nervously back at Le Chat Club.

"Lorelai," Luke said in a worried tone. When she looked back at him, he said, "Think it over, okay? I mean, seriously." He smiled wanly and said, "I can be patient a little while longer."

Lorelai nodded and said, "Okay."

"We'll talk later?" he said cautiously.

"Later," she answered automatically. She watched as he turned to head toward the diner and called, "Luke?"

"Yeah?" he answered.

Lorelai held out her hand and said, "Give me the credit card and the pot holders. You can't give her those. It's too cruel."

Luke smiled as he pulled his wallet out again and slid the card from the slot that he had shoved it into earlier. He handed it over along with the bag and said gruffly, "Thanks."

Lorelai nodded and said, "Hang onto that horoscope. We may need it."

"Planned on it," he answered with smile.

It had been an uncomfortable night. Luke worked late in the diner, making every minor repair to every appliance that he could get his hands on. Guilt and excitement roiled in his gut, mixing with fear and relief and concocting a potent cocktail of dread and anticipation. When he could no longer manufacture another excuse not to go upstairs, Luke faked a cold so that Rachel wouldn't find the fact that he wanted to sleep on the couch too suspicious.

Lorelai blinked unseeingly at the bedroom ceiling that night, playing and replaying their conversation over and over again in her head, trying to be sure that she hadn't misunderstood what had been said. She had let the machine pick up when Max called, unable to speak to him until she had spoken to Luke again, and was absolutely positive that they had agreed to what she thought they had agreed to. She turned over, covering her head with the spare pillow and trying to ignore the nagging guilt that echoed in the dark recesses of her mind.

Lorelai breezed into the diner the following day with handfuls of brown shopping bags. Luke watched in stunned silence as she unloaded them onto the counter, and immediately started filling him in on her shopping expedition. She presented him with a copy of _Out of Africa_ and a beautifully crafted leather camera bag as gifts for him to give to Rachel. As the girl he wanted stood in front of him holding the satchel she had purchased for the girl who stood in the way, Luke's thoughts were a jumble. He looked up to see Lorelai looking at him with an expectant smile. Finally, he stammered, "She's got a camera bag."

"It's nylon," Lorelai said dismissively.

"So?" Luke asked.

Lorelai ran her hand over the bag and said, "This one's leather. Beautiful leather. Feel it, smell it."

"I'm not gonna smell that bag," Luke scoffed, trying to drag his eyes away from the hand that caressed the buttery soft leather.

Lorelai rolled her eyes as she set the bag on the counter and said, "Fine, don't smell it, but trust me, she's gonna love it. Her old bag is falling apart so she was gonna get a new one eventually and now you will have beaten her to it."

Luke reached out and ran the strap of the camera bag trough his fingers as he murmured, "So it's practical."

Lorelai nodded and added, "And pretty," with an encouraging smile.

Luke nodded slowly and said, "Well, that seems right."

"You like?" she asked hopefully.

Luke smiled and said, "Yeah thanks."

"Good," she answered, returning his smile as their eyes locked.

Luke blushed slightly as she held his gaze for a moment too long. He cleared his throat and gestured to the other bags as he asked, "What's all this?"

Lorelai grinned smugly as she laced her fingers together and said, "Well Luke, timing is a beautiful thing."

"It is?" he asked warily.

"It is," she asserted. "So I'm at the mall, and I've already found Rachel's gifts, and I've had two sugar cinnamon pretzels and I'm buzzed on the sugar and jazzed about the purchases and I decide to take a victory lap through Bloomingdale's, and it just so happens that there was an amazing sale in the men's department," she said excitedly.

Luke sat mesmerized for a moment, watching her eyes dance as she babbled about her pretzels. Absently, he lifted the strap of the camera case and held it to his nose, taking an appreciative sniff of the fine leather as he heard Lorelai rambling vaguely about the men's department at Bloomingdale's.

"I mean gorgeous stuff. Look at this," she insisted as she pulled a sweater from a bag. "Forty percent off! I got three different colors!" she crowed triumphantly.

Luke snapped to attention and asked, "For who?"

"For you," she said offhandedly as she began to search through bags.

"For me?" Luke asked incredulously.

Lorelai pulled a pair of pants from another bag and said, "Yeah. And then of course, beautiful pants. So soft, I don't know what this fabric is but I think I wanna have its baby," she said as she held them up for his inspection. "You're gonna look great in these pants," she said excitedly as she began digging again.

Luke hopped up from the stool and said, "Okay, hold on a minute here."

Lorelai continued to pull various items from the seemingly bottomless bags, as Luke watched, protesting vehemently with new addition. Lorelai turned to him with a brilliant smile and said, "You have to try something on right now. How about this sweater?" she asked as she held it out to him.

"No!" he said with an adamant shake of his head.

Lorelai shrugged him off and said, "Okay, how about the pants? Pretty pants!" she said enticingly as she held them up next to her.

Luke shook his head stubbornly and said, "I'm not trying anything on."

Lorelai stopped and stared at him pointedly as she said, "Hey, it's not like the lumberjack look will ever go out; it won't. But just once wouldn't it be nice not to be dressed like an extra from _Seven Brides for Seven Brothers_?"

"Take it back," Luke insisted.

Lorelai took a step toward him a she picked up the suit bag. "Come on, just the jacket." When she saw him hesitate, she moved in for the kill. "Just once, be too sexy for your shirt and do a little dance on the catwalk. Just for me," she added in a whisper.

"Lorelai," he protested weakly. "I'm working."

"There's hardly anyone in here. Please, Luke?" she asked, adding a little flutter of her eyelashes for good measure.

Five minutes later, Lorelai sat at the counter sipping a cup of coffee as she stared at the curtain that separated the stairs to Luke's apartment from the diner. "Come on!" she whined impatiently.

"I hate you. Very much," Luke called back from the storeroom.

Lorelai lifted her coffee mug to her lips as she called back to him, "I have seen documentation that proves otherwise."

"Hey," Luke said in a chastising tone as he stepped out into the dining room with a scowl. "That cannot be used against me," he muttered.

"Oh my God, Luke, is that you?" Lorelai gasped as she pressed a dramatic hand to her heart, and felt it speed up in a very real way.

Luke stood in the doorway wearing the new pants and one of the sweaters she had chosen for him and grumbled, "I feel ridiculous."

"That's because you don't have the belt on," she answered as she plucked it from a small bag and sauntered over to him. "Here," she said as she reached out to put the belt on him.

Luke stepped back quickly and hissed, "What are you doing?"

"It's called accessorizing," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

Luke stared at her for a moment and then said, "I can put a belt on by myself, thank you," as he took it from her hand.

"Okay, sorry. Just trying to help," she said with wide eyed innocence.

"Don't flirt with me now," Luke warned in a low voice.

Lorelai's smile bloomed as she stood back to give him an appreciative once over as he threaded the belt through the loops. "Hmm," she hummed throatily.

"What?" Luke asked as his head jerked up to look at her.

Lorelai shook her head slowly as she pressed her fingers to her chest and said, "I just have exceptional taste is all. Turn around," she ordered.

Luke blinked in surprise and asked, "What?"

"I just wanna make sure it all fits," she told him. "Turn around," she said as she made a circling motion with her finger. Luke turned in a slow circle while Lorelai watched with a sly smile and murmured, "Uh huh, uh huh."

Luke sighed and said, "Stop. I'm taking them back."

Lorelai shook her head, ready to dig her heels in as she said, "You are not returning these clothes." She reached for the jacket and said, "Here, try on the suit again."

"I already tried it on twice," Luke protested.

Lorelai gave him a flirty smile as she said, "I know, but I want to see it with the black shirt."

"I'm not wearing a black suit with a black shirt," Luke grumbled as he let her slide the suit jacket over his arms.

Lorelai leaned close to his ear and asked, "Where did you sleep last night?"

"Huh?' Luke said, turning his head to see her.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that," she said quickly as she stepped back, dropping her gaze to his white athletic socks.

Luke turned to face her and said, "I slept on the couch."

"And she, uh, I mean, what did you say?" she asked.

Luke glanced back nervously at the nearly empty diner and said in a low voice, "That I thought I was getting a cold."

"I feel so bad," Lorelai whispered.

Luke looked around again and said, "We can't talk about this here. Just let me get through today, okay? Please?"

"Okay," she murmured.

Luke sighed and said, "I know. I feel bad too, but I can't, I mean," he trailed off as he ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"I know. I know," she assured him.

"I haven't changed my mind," he said gruffly.

Lorelai lifted her eyes to meet his and asked, "You haven't?"

Luke shook his head and said, "You're the only one who can make me change my mind about this."

Lorelai shook her head and said, "I'm sorry. I just was thinking about, well, you know," she said lamely.

"Lorelai," Luke said cajolingly.

"No. I know. I know better than that," she assured him.

"Okay," Luke said with a nod. He looked down at the tag on the jacket and tried to capture it in his hand as he asked, "This is how you like your guys, all GQ'ed up, huh?"

Lorelai shook her head and said, "It's not GQ'ed up, it's just a little less casual."

"And you don't like casual," Luke muttered, his eyes widening when he read the price on the tag.

Lorelai batted his hand away and straightened the seams over his shoulders as she said, "I like casual fine."

"Just not on me," Luke grumbled.

Lorelai smoothed the lapels with her hands and said, "No, it just adds variety. Its not lets make a new Luke, its lets see another side of the old one." She smiled up at him and said, "Who bought you that fabulous blue cap?"

"Uh huh," Luke grunted as he looked down at her hands on his chest.

Lorelai could feel the heat of his gaze and the slight increase in his breathing. Remembering where they were, she cleared her throat and dropped her hands as she stepped back to inspect him. Avoiding his eyes, Lorelai focused on the clothes instead. "You missed a loop," she pointed out. "Come here," she said as she reached for his belt and began to unbuckle it. "What did you do?" she asked softly.

"Lorelai," Luke whispered in a raw voice.

"I'm just fixing your belt," she said innocently.

"Uh huh," he grunted as he stood passively, watching her pull his belt from the belt loops, and fighting to keep his body from reacting to her proximity. "Tomorrow," he promised softly.

"Tomorrow," she echoed, keeping her eyes on the task at hand.

She distantly heard the bells above the door chime and jumped a little as Luke said, "Oh, hi."

Lorelai looked up, Luke's belt still in her hand as she saw Rachel standing just inside the door staring at them incredulously. "Oh, hi." She released the belt and waved her hand toward Luke as she said, "Uh, this is not what it looks like."

"It looks like you're dressing him," Rachel said slowly.

Lorelai chuckled nervously and said, "Then this is exactly what it looks like."

"There was a sale at Bloomingdale's and she…" Luke started to say.

"Six trillion percent off," Lorelai interjected.

"How can you walk away from that, huh?" Luke asked with a nervous snicker. He paused as he looked from one woman to the other and then said, "I'm gonna change now."

Lorelai nodded quickly and said, "Good, uh, I'm gonna get Rory and just enjoy the clothes," she called to him as she quickly grabbed her purse and started for the door.

"I will," Luke answered as he tried not to watch her go, looking instead at Rachel.

"Okay good. See you later Rachel," Lorelai said as she slipped past Rachel and opened the door.

"Bye," Rachel called without taking her eyes off of Luke.

"Bye," Lorelai mumbled as she stepped out and pulled the door closed behind her. She paused on the steps, watching through the window as Luke jerked a thumb toward the back room, and Rachel nodded. She saw him turn on his heel and hurry back to the store room as Rachel turned to look at the pile of clothing heaped on one of the tables. Lorelai hurried down the street, her heart pounding and her cheeks burning.

When she reached the sanctuary of her front porch, Lorelai stopped, drawing in a few deep breaths as she squeezed her eyes closed and whispered, "Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?" She walked over to the sofa that graced the porch and sat down slowly, her hands clasped between her knees. She stared down at her shoes as she tried to calm herself, but was jolted from her thoughts when she heard the phone ringing inside the house. She started to dig for her keys and then smirked when she remembered that the door wasn't locked.

By the time she stepped into the living room, the machine had kicked on, and she heard Max say, "Lorelai, it's me. Listen, I think I messed up. I didn't realize that you still hadn't told Rory that you and I were seeing each other again, and I think she might be a little upset. Call me when you get a chance, okay?" he said before hanging up.

Lorelai sank into the chair and pressed the heel of her hand to her head as she groaned, "Oh no." When the phone began to ring a moment later, Lorelai glared at it, but made no move to answer. When the machine beeped, she heard Luke say, "Lorelai, I'm sorry. I mean, I'm sorry if you're embarrassed. I just. I don't know what to do," he said with a sigh. "Well, that's not true, I know what I need to do, but it's just. It's just so complicated," he told her machine. "I know what I want though, which is half the battle, right?" he asked with a rueful laugh as Lorelai found herself reaching for the portable phone and holding it in her hand as she listened to him. "Can you, would you call me here at the diner? Please?" he asked quietly.

Lorelai hit the 'on' button and said, "I'm here."

"Hey," he said quickly.

"Hi," she answered.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

"Why are you apologizing?" she asked.

"It's my fault. I let this happen, and I got everything up," he told her.

"Are you changing your mind?" she asked with a frown.

"No, no," he said quickly. "You know, no matter what happens, I know it's not right with Rachel. I think she might know that too," he added. "I don't want you feeling bad, or guilty or embarrassed," he said firmly. "This is on me. I have to deal with this, just like you have to decide on your own if you're gonna give that guy those pot holders," he said with a soft chuckle.

"Maybe we should take a little break from each other for a couple of days, straighten things out," Lorelai said cautiously.

Luke nodded slowly and said, "Uh, sure, yeah, if that's what you want."

"I think that would be best," Lorelai said softly. "And maybe, when one of us gets whatever straightened out, we could just let the other know, you know?" she asked.

Luke nodded as he pressed his lips together. "Yeah, sure, okay," he said gruffly.

"I'll let you know," she promised.

Luke said, "Okay. Me too. Uh, thanks," he said as he hung up quickly. He glared at the diner phone and muttered, "Damn it. God damn it," he said through clenched teeth as he turned and sought refuge in his kitchen.

Lorelai placed the phone gently back on the cradle and pressed her fingertips to her eyebrows, pressing gently as she smoothed them. She glanced at the clock and realized that Rory's bus would be arriving soon. She grabbed her keys and headed for the door, hoping to find a little solace and distraction in the form of her best friend and daughter.

Tbc

**Here is the challenge set forth by Phishes: **

**Set in the episode where Lorelai goes shopping for Luke's present for Rachel. Luke pulls out his wallet to give her his credit card, and the horoscope falls out. Lorelai's sees it, and asks why he still has it- Luke responds, well, truthfully.**


	2. Purgatory

**Purgatory**

Lorelai saw Lane and Rory deep in conversation and then Lane turned and stomped away as Rory tossed what appeared to be a perfectly good cup of coffee into the nearest trash can. As she caught up to her daughter she called, "Hey, where's Lane going?"

"Away," Rory muttered as she started walking toward home.

Lorelai took a deep breath as she tried to catch up again and said, "Okay, you've been in this mood for a week now and while I love the unexpected ups and downs of motherhood, I've got to say I'm tired of Goofus and I'd like my Gallant back."

Rory snapped, "You can't just say a normal sentence right? Just 'Hey, let's talk' is too dull for you."

Lorelai grabbed Rory's arm to stop her and said, "Hey lets talk."

Rory glared at her mother and asked, "About what? Oh wait I know. How about you and Mr. Medina?"

"What?" Lorelai asked, wondering for a moment how this all got turned on her, but then remembered Max's message on her machine.

"I've heard you've gotten back together again," Rory said pointedly as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Did you talk to Max?" Lorelai asked, stalling for time.

Rory nodded and said snidely, "He had me stay after class today to talk about my difficult breakup situation."

Lorelai shook her head and said, "We are not dating. We have been talking and we just now decided to maybe start dating, but there has been no dating, uh, for real."

"Why didn't you tell me you'd been talking?" Rory demanded.

Lorelai sighed and hung her head a little as she said, "Because it was too complicated, and now it's even more complicated."

"Because you didn't want me to know," Rory accused.

"No, because it was complicated to start with, and now there's Luke and you and I don't know how I feel about all of this," Lorelai blurted. "On top of all that there was the whole rubbing it in aspect to consider," she explained.

"Whoa, whoa, back up," Rory said as she held up her hand to stop her. "I get that you think it's complicated, I guess it is, but what does Luke have to do with this and what are you rubbing in?" she asked.

Lorelai sighed and said, "You were so miserable about Dean. What was I supposed to do? Walk in and say, 'Sorry about you and Dean but I got Max back and aren't we happy!' Would that have been good?"

"That would've been great," Rory said sarcastically.

"I was going to tell you, okay? I just wanted to give you some space and a chance to come up for air. I was trying to protect you, that's all," Lorelai said gently.

Rory rolled her eyes and began to walk away, so Lorelai followed her calling, "Hey!"

Rory shook her head and said, "You know, actually, it doesn't matter whether you tell me about Max or not because you're just gonna break up again anyway."

"Excuse me?" Lorelai gasped, shocked by the venom in her daughter's tone.

Rory shrugged insolently and said, "Well that's what you do best."

Lorelai held up one hand and said firmly, "Hey, stop right there."

Rory hugged herself defensively and said, "You'll break up, cry, get back together, break up. It doesn't really matter. I'd rather not have to keep track, so tell me when you're down to the final inning."

Lorelai gaped at her and then said, "You know what, that is way too snotty a thing even for alternate universe Rory to say. I'd like an apology," she said sternly.

"Fine. I apologize. Let's go home," Rory said shortly.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows and said, "Yeah, let's go home and try that apology again."

Rory started heading toward home again, but Lorelai stopped in front of the market. When Rory looked back over her shoulder she asked, "What are you doing?"

Lorelai gestured to Doose's and said, "We need light bulbs."

"We're fine," Rory said dismissively.

Lorelai sighed and said, "We're in the dark. It'll take a minute. I assume you won't come in."

"Is it Wednesday?" Rory asked archly.

"No," Lorelai answered.

"Well then I can't, can I?" Rory reasoned impatiently.

"What does Wednesday have to do with anything?" Lorelai demanded.

Rory shook her head and turned to continue on as she called, "Nothing. I'll meet you at home."

Lorelai walked into Doose's and the first thing she spotted was Dean bagging groceries. She sighed heavily and headed for the aisle where the light bulbs were kept. She reached out and fingered a package of bulbs absently as she stared at the shelf with unseeing eyes. Her mind raced as she realized that not only had she not told Rory about speaking to Max again, but she didn't say anything about Luke, and what may or may not be happening between them. The memory of the night she and Rory stood outside of the diner watching Luke through the window came rushing back to her. Just the echo of the steel in Rory's voice when she pulled her from the window and told her in no uncertain terms that she was not allowed to date Luke sent a shiver down her spine. She shook her head slightly to clear it and quickly picked up the package of bulbs, cradling them in the crook of her arm as she walked slowly to the cash register. As she waited, Lorelai kept her eyes glued to the package, unwilling to look up, unable to see the same wounded look in Dean's eyes as she had seen in Rory's.

When her purchase was rung up, handed over a couple of bills and waved off both the change and the bag Dean offered her. She gave him a weak smile of her own, grabbed the light bulbs from the counter, and fled as quickly as possible. As she passed by the diner window, she saw Luke placing clean mugs on the shelf beneath the counter. He looked up, his eyes immediately locking on her, and Lorelai offered a small wave as she held up the package of light bulbs and then started to meander toward home to talk to Rory. Hopefully, this time, in a more rational manner, but she wasn't banking on that. It had been a very irrational two days, after all.

She took her time, wandering down the fruit streets on the way, hoping to give Rory enough time to cool down a little. She walked through the front door and called, "Rory, I'm back for round two. I got some silly string in case things get really ugly." She walked into the kitchen and placed the package of bulbs on the table as she called, "Rory?" She poked her head into her daughter's room, but found it empty. "Where are you?" she yelled as she walked into the living room. With a frown, she turned and called up the stairs, "Rory? Answer please. Rory?" she tried again, an edge of panic creeping into her voice.

The telephone rang, and Lorelai lunged for it. "Hello? Rory?" she asked quickly.

"Lorelai, its Max," Max said tiredly. "I missed you earlier, I'm glad I got you now," he said.

"Max, I, um, I can't talk right now," she told him as she climbed the stairs to check her room just to be sure that Rory wasn't up there.

"Listen, I don't know if you got my message…" Max started to say.

"I did," Lorelai told him shortly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you hadn't said anything to her until I saw the look on her face," he explained quickly.

"Max, now is really not the time, okay?" Lorelai said firmly.

"But I think that we should talk about this," he insisted.

"We will talk about it, but right now I have to find my daughter, who is majorly pissed off, and not where she's supposed to be," Lorelai snapped.

"Oh," Max said softly.

"Yeah, so, I'll have to call you back," Lorelai said as she hit the off button and looked around her empty room blankly. She looked down at the phone in her hand and asked aloud, "Where did you go?"

She sat down on the edge of her bed, trying not to freak out yet. _After all, it was broad daylight, and Rory wasn't a child anymore,_ she reasoned. _She may have just gone over to Lane's to vent about her crazy mother,_ she told herself. She looked down at the phone again and then pressed the on button and began dialing with her thumb. "Mrs. Kim? It's Lorelai. Is Lane there? Well do you know where she is?" she asked anxiously. "Huh. That's unbelievable. You always know where she is. Um, the one time I need you to be crazy prison guard lady you're all, hey man whatever," she muttered. "Um, you know what, I will never be able to explain that to your satisfaction, so um could you just ask Lane to call me please when she gets back. I'm looking for Rory. No I don't know where she is. I, uh, don't 'ha' me, you don't know where Lane is either," she sneered as she hit the button to end the frustrating call.

She sat there for a few more minutes, and was almost able to convince herself that Rory was with Lane wherever they were. She stood up and walked down the steps slowly, staring into the empty living room as if Rory would have magically appeared. The phone rang in her hand, causing her to jump, dropping the handset to the floor. Lorelai scrambled for it, and pressed the on button as she panted, "Hello?" She listened for a moment and than said, "So she's not with you? No. Yeah, I know. She's been really crabby lately. Uh huh. I understand," she said with a rueful laugh. "No, that's okay, thanks. I'm sure that she just went for a walk or something," Lorelai said, trying to convince herself as much as Lane. "Yeah, well, I'll have her call you. Thanks, Lane," Lorelai said as she hung up and then dropped down onto the couch, trying to figure out if she believed her own stories.

XXXX

Spotting Lorelai as she walked by waving her package of light bulbs at him seemed to strengthen Luke's resolve. For some odd reason, just the sight of that wacky woman walking by and showing off her household purchases made him smile. He finished straightening up before the dinner rush began and called back to Caesar that he was out for the night. He walked up the stairs to the apartment, and felt a flood of relief as he heard the shower running in the bathroom. He walked into the apartment and the first thing he saw was clothing that Lorelai had purchased on his behalf piled on the armchair, just where he had dumped it earlier that afternoon. He walked over and started to pick through the pile, trying to figure out what to wear for what he was sure would be the longest dinner of his life. He pulled out a dark blue sweater and remembered something Lorelai said about his eyes popping. He dropped it back onto the pile, and glanced over at his closet, wondering if Rachel would find it strange if he wore something old when he had a whole new wardrobe to choose from. With a sigh, he turned back to the pile and plucked a charcoal grey sweater, which had made Lorelai shrug with indifference when she held it up to him. Figuring it would be better to wear something that Lorelai wouldn't want to see him wear in the future, than to be reminded of what he was about to do over and over again, Luke settled on the grey sweater and then pulled a pair of his less faded jeans from his closet and draped them over the end of the bed with the sweater.

He heard the water shut off, and a moment later Rachel stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her and her hair piled up on top of her head. "Hey," she said as she spotted him there.

"Oh, hey," he said as he looked up, and then looked away quickly.

Rachel passed behind him on her way to the dresser and reached to rub his back as she asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Huh?" Luke asked, with a puzzled frown.

"Your cold?" she asked as she pulled a bra and panties from her drawer.

"Oh, uh, throat is scratchy. A little swollen," he said as he made of show of running his fingers over his throat. Luke reached into the dresser and pulled out a pair of clean underwear and said, "I'm gonna grab a quick shower and then I'll be ready." He quickly closed himself into the bathroom, tossing the clean underwear onto the counter and turning on the water before he stripped out of his clothes.

While he was showering, Rachel walked into the bathroom and began smoothing lotion over her arms and legs. "So, not so busy today," she called to him.

"What? Oh, no," Luke answered as he lathered up.

"It was nice of Lorelai to pick that stuff out for you," she told him. Rachel paused for a moment, and when Luke said nothing she pointed out, "If you wanted some new clothes, I could have done that."

"Oh, uh, for the last few years, you know, she's been hounding me about my stuff," Luke stammered. "So she has just kind of jumped in, you know," he explained lamely wincing a little at how it sounded.

"Oh," Rachel said with a nod, trying not to be hurt by the veiled inference that she had not been there to do those things for him.

Luke took his time, hoping that she would leave the room before he had to actually exit the shower. He knew that it was silly, and that Rachel had seen him naked hundreds of times. Hell, he she had just seen him naked two days ago, but he couldn't shake the feeling that now everything was different. Just the possibility of having Lorelai within reach was enough to change his whole perspective, whether that was rational or not, he didn't care. He stood with his hair plastered against his head as the water beat down over him, wishing that the spray would wash just a little of the guilt that was plaguing him down the drain. He heard her close the tube of lotion and then hang her towel on the bar to dry. He peeped around the edge of the shower curtain in time to see her stroll back into the bedroom in nothing but her birthday suit. With a small snort at the irony of the thought, Luke turned off the water and snaked a hand out of the shower to grab his towel. He dried off quickly, then cautiously pulled the curtain aside, and reached for the underwear he had left on the vanity. After hanging up his towel, he walked back into the bedroom and snatched his jeans from the end of the bed. He pulled them on, zipped them, but left the button undone as he went back to the dresser for his socks.

"Are we in a hurry?" Rachel asked, as she pulled a sweater over her head.

"Huh? Oh, no," Luke said as she shook his head and dropped down onto the side of the bed to put his socks on.

Rachel smiled and ran her hand through his towel dried, but uncombed hair, smoothing it back from his face. "You usually primp a little more," she teased.

Luke switched legs and pulled on the second sock as he shot her a look. "I do not primp," he grumbled as he pushed himself up off of the bed and went back into the bathroom to comb his wet hair.

Rachel lounged in the doorway watching him as she asked, "You going for the full beard?"

Luke grimaced as he saw the two days of growth on his cheeks and neck and said, "I'll shave."

"You don't have to on my account, you know I like you scruffy," she said as she reached out to touch his cheek.

It was all that Luke could do to not shy from her touch. Instead, he offered her a weak smile and said, "I'd better anyway."

"You okay?" she asked worriedly.

Luke nodded and said, "Yeah, I guess I'm just a little off."

Rachel nodded and said, "Come on, Scruffy. We'll have a quick dinner and then get you home to bed."

Luke immediately felt a twinge of guilt as he turned to look at her and said gruffly, "It's your birthday. Let me just shave and we'll go have a nice dinner. I'll be fine," he assured her.

"Okay," Rachel said with a nod. "But if you start feeling worse, we're coming home," she said with a nod as she turned to go finish getting ready.

Luke started the water running in the sink and then reached into the medicine cabinet for his razor and shaving cream. He closed the cabinet door, and caught his own gaze in the mirror. "Home," he whispered as he glanced toward the bedroom nervously. He hunkered down over the sink to wet his face and muttered, "Oh geez."

XXXX

Sookie bustled through the front door and Lorelai pounced. "Anything?" she demanded.

Sookie shook her head and said, "Patty hasn't seen her but she's been working all day. She's not at the library. I didn't see her at Luke's, but Luke wasn't there to ask," she reported.

Lorelai looked down at the phone in her hand, realizing that she had just turned it on to dial Luke's number. She hit the off button, and wailed, "Where is she? Why didn't she leave a note? Dammit!"

"Honey calm down," Sookie said as patiently as possible.**  
**  
Lorelai shook her head and said, "But Rory doesn't take off. She knows it would make me crazy. She knows it would make me worry. I'm crossing over into panic now," she told Sookie as she pressed her hand to her heart.

Sookie grasped Lorelai's arm and said, "Don't cross. Come back."

There was a knock on the door and as soon as Lorelai reached the foyer, Max opened it a crack and said, "Hey."

Lorelai stopped dead in her tracks and said, "Hey."

"You find her?" he asked anxiously.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "No, nothing. No one's seen her."

Max nodded and said, "Okay, um, what about that old boyfriend of hers?"

"Dean! Dean!" Lorelai called to Sookie.

Sookie hurried past them as she said, "On my way."

Lorelai offered Max a weak smile and said, "Good suggestion. You get crisis points. Max, I'm freaking out."

Max rubbed her shoulder and said, "It's gonna be okay. Sookie's here, I'm here. We will find her."

Lorelai frowned up at him and asked, "Why are you here?"

Max shrugged and said, "I thought that I could help."

Lorelai stepped back from him and said, "That's really nice of you."

"I like Rory, and I like you," Max said as he stepped closer to her again.

Lorelai placed a hand on his chest to stop his advance and said quickly, "And while I appreciate that, this may not be the best time for you to be here."

Max lifted one shoulder and asked, "What better time? You said yourself that I got crisis points."

Lorelai pointed out, "Yes, but part of this is that she's upset about you and me. If she comes home and finds you here, that might not be so helpful."

Max thought about it for a moment and then said, "You might have a point."

Lorelai nodded and said, "I have Sookie, and Patty and the rest of the town. She'll turn up. Oh! The bookstore! I should call Andrew," she muttered as she turned, scanning the room for the cordless phone. She spotted it on the couch and hurried to retrieve it. When she turned back to him, she said, "Seriously, I'll be fine."

Max gestured to the phone and asked, "Will you call me and let me know that she's okay?"

"I will," Lorelai promised as she clutched the phone to her chest.

"Okay. I'll go," Max said as he walked over to her and ducked his head to kiss her.

At the last moment, Lorelai turned her head slightly so that his kiss fell to her cheek. When he pulled back and looked at her with his eyebrows raised in surprise, she laughed nervously and held up the phone. "Gotta call Andrew," she reminded him.

"Okay, I'll leave you to it. Don't forget to call me, though," Max said as he turned to head for the door.

"I won't," Lorelai called after him. When she heard the front door close behind him, she dropped to the couch and murmured worriedly, "But Andrew hasn't seen her either." She dropped her eyes to the phone, and as if by magic, it began to ring.

XXXX

"Is it not good?" Rachel asked as she pointed her fork at his linguini.

"Huh? Oh, yes, it is," Luke said as he looked down and realized that he had hardly touched his entrée. He glanced around and said, "I, uh, I'll be right back," he told her as he started to rise from his chair. He walked quickly toward the men's room, and was relieved to find it empty when he stepped inside. He walked over to the mirror and stared at his reflection for a moment. "Stop it. Stop thinking about her," he told himself. He turned the water on and began to wash his hands thoroughly. "Rachel. Think about Rachel," he reminded himself. He looked up into the mirror as he reached for paper towels to dry his hands and said sternly, "She doesn't deserve this, especially not on her birthday." He tossed the towels into the trash can and opened the door to return to his table. Glancing to his right, he noticed a pay phone, and stopped in his tracks.

Luke pulled a handful of change from his pocket and lifted the receiver. He dropped what he thought should be an adequate amount into the slot, and quickly dialed. His head reared back as he heard Lorelai answer in an anxious tone, "Hello? Rory?"

"It's me. Luke," he told her. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Luke, Rory ran away," Lorelai said plaintively.

"What? What do you mean ran away?" he demanded.

"We had a fight. Well, not really a fight, more like she was being a jerk, and I refused to take it anymore. Then, when I got home, she wasn't here," she explained. "I've been totally frantic. I had half the town looking for her," she told him.

"I'll be right there," he said quickly.

"No! She's okay," Lorelai said quickly. "My mother just called. She took a cab to Hartford, she's at my parents' house," she told him.

Luke blew out a long breath and said, "Thank God she's safe." He rubbed his forehead and then said, "Wow. Your parents' house?"

Lorelai smiled as she realized how much he actually did get her. "Yeah," she answered with a wry smile.

"Why would she go there? I mean, you don't exactly make it sound like the most pleasant place to visit," he added.

"Because she knows that I won't chase her down and beg her to come home if she's there," Lorelai said sadly.

"I'm so sorry," Luke said sincerely. "What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'm gonna let her cool down tonight, and then I'm going to go get her in the morning," she told him.

Luke nodded and said, "That's probably best."

"Where are you at?" Lorelai asked him.

"Uh, dinner," Luke said gruffly.

Lorelai gasped and said, "Luke! Why are you calling me?"

Luke shook his head and said, "I couldn't stop thinking about you. About, uh, us," he said as his voice dropped. He sighed and said, "This is hard."

"Yeah," she said sympathetically.

"I feel horrible," he told her.

Lorelai chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment and then said, "Then don't do it."

"Don't do what?" Luke asked with a scowl.

"Don't break up with her," Lorelai told him.

"Are you nuts?" Luke asked incredulously.

"Well, you keep telling me that I am," Lorelai said dryly.

Luke glanced over his shoulder to be sure that no one was nearby and then said, "No, not an option. Either way, it's not fair. I'm not in this," he told her.

"Well, then, yeah. I'm sorry it's hard. I know it is. Max showed up here tonight to help, and I had to send him away," she said honestly. "They're both good people, and they're both going to be hurt," she sighed.

"Exactly," Luke commiserated.

There was a moment of silence as they both listened to the other breathing on the other end of the line. Finally, Lorelai said softly, "I don't think we're bad people."

"Me either," Luke agreed.

"We just, something just, I don't know, happened," she said quietly.

"It wasn't planned," Luke agreed.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "It's not like we want to hurt them." She sighed and said, "Go back to your dinner, Luke."

"I'm glad she's okay," he said softly.

"I'll talk to you later," Lorelai said as she hung up the phone.

Luke looked down at the receiver in his hand and then gently placed it back on the hook. He ran his palms over the back of his jeans, tugged his sweater down a little, and turned back to the dining room.

XXXX

Luke made it through the rest of dinner, making a concerted effort to talk and making himself laugh at the appropriate moments. As they walked into the apartment later that night, Luke tossed his keys into the shallow dish where he usually kept them. Rachel looked back at him and said, "You seem to be feeling better." She stepped closer and wound her arms around his neck, lifting her lips for a kiss. When he hesitated, she whispered, "I'm not afraid of a little cold."

Luke gave her a quick peck on the lips and said, "I'd feel horrible if you got sick." To distract her, he smiled and said, "I have presents."

Rachel's eyebrows shot up as she asked, "You do?"

Luke chuckled as he stepped back and said, "Well, yeah."

Rachel laughed and said, "I thought that it was understood that you're not the best present shopper in the world."

"I will admit that I'm not," Luke said as he disentangled himself from her arms and walked over to the closet by the apartment door. "I didn't wrap them, if that makes you feel any better," he said sarcastically.

"That does," Rachel said with a nod. "Otherwise, I'd be afraid that you were body snatched," she said as she sat down at the kitchen table.

Luke reached into the closet, and pulled the book tucked into the pocket of the camera bag up a little, so that the title would show. "Close your eyes," he called to her.

Rachel smiled as she closed them and said, "Man, I hope it's a nice set of towels, because yours suck."

"Ha ha," Luke intoned as he walked over and placed the camera bag on the table in front of her. "Okay," he said as he waved a hand toward the bag.

Rachel opened her eyes, and then gave a little start as she saw the leather bag in front of her. "Wow," she blurted.

"Do you like it?" Luke asked anxiously.

Rachel reached out to run her hand over the smooth leather and said in a soft voice, "It's beautiful."

"Your other one was falling apart," he said with a nod as he sat down in the chair across from her.

"It was," Rachel agreed as she began to lift flaps and unzip compartments. "This is, uh, wow," she said softly. She reached into the outside pocket and pulled the copy of _Out of Africa _out, studying it carefully as realization dawned on her. She ran her tongue over her upper lip thoughtfully and then said, "I was just talking about this book." She looked up to see Luke nodding and said, "With Lorelai."

"Uh, yeah, she mentioned that," Luke said striving for an offhanded tone.

Rachel's mind raced as she started adding it all up in her head. Flashes of Luke sleeping on the couch, his careful distance, Lorelai dressing him in the diner, Luke taking his underwear into the bathroom, instead of walking around in his towel as he normally did, and his sudden aversion to being touched filed through her head. She nodded slowly and said, "It's supposed to be an amazing book."

"She said that you said you had never read it," Luke told her.

"I haven't," Rachel answered quietly. "Thank you."

"Happy Birthday," he wished her.

Rachel nodded as she swallowed hard and said, "Yeah, thanks." She straightened her shoulders a little and then smiled gently as she said, "You know, you look a little flushed. Maybe you should get some sleep."

Luke blinked in surprise and then said, "Uh, okay. You're probably right."

Rachel nodded as she stood up and said, "I'll take the couch."

Luke shook his head quickly and said, "No, I'm used to sleeping on it. I'll be fine."

Rachel pressed her lips together as she looked down at him and said, "Okay." She kissed his cheek gently and said, "Go."

Luke stood up and walked toward the bathroom as he called, "I'm sorry, kind of a crappy birthday."

Rachel sighed and sank back into the chair as she heard him turn the water on in the sink. "Yeah, a little crappy," she whispered as she fingered the strap of her new camera bag.

XXXX

Lorelai wandered aimlessly from the kitchen to the living room and then flopped down on the couch. She turned her head slightly and glared at the phone resting on the cushion beside her, knowing that she still needed to call Max and let him know that Rory was safe. She felt drained, her brain jumbled, and her stomach twisted into knots. She reached out and lifted the phone listlessly, trying to work up the energy to make the call. She closed her eyes for a moment and drew in a steadying breath before she began to dial. When Max answered, she said, "It's me, she's fine. She's at my parents' house."

"Oh, good," Max said with a relieved smile.

"Yeah, I guess so," Lorelai said a little petulantly.

Max smiled and said, "You sound upset. We were lucky. You know, most teenagers don't run away to their grandparents' house," he teased.

Lorelai bristled a little at his self-inclusion in her life and said, "Well, there may be a few worse places, but not many."

Max chuckled and said, "Lorelai, they're your parents."

"Exactly," Lorelai muttered.

"You should be happy," he told her.

Lorelai pursed her lips and said, "Happy is pretty far down on the list right now."

"You're still upset. That's understandable, but she's safe and well cared for," he said confidently. "Why didn't you go and get her if you're so worried about them?" he asked.

Lorelai took a deep breath, and decided that she didn't have the energy to explain it all to him at the moment. "She needed a little space," she said simply.

"Yeah, well, everyone does sometimes," Max said agreeably.

"So, I…" Lorelai started to say.

"I think we should have dinner tomorrow and discuss this whole situation," Max said, cutting her off.

"Well, Max…" Lorelai tried again.

"I mean, you shouldn't feel like you have to keep things like this from her," he insisted.

"No, I shouldn't," Lorelai agreed.

"Get some sleep. I'll pick you up at seven," Max said firmly.

Lorelai paused, debating whether to just get it over with, or to wait until she saw him face to face. With a sigh, she said, "I'll see you at seven."

"Goodnight, Lorelai," he said warmly.

"Goodbye, Max," Lorelai answered distractedly as she pressed the button to disconnect the call.

XXXX

Luke lay awake, staring at the ceiling as he listened to Rachel's breathing. He could tell that she wasn't asleep, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything to her. He lowered his eyes to the bed, staring into the semi darkness until he could pick up the outline of her body as she lay turned away from him on her side. As he stared at her back, he thought of all of the times that he had wished desperately that she would stay put. The irony of the fact that this time she seemed determined to stay was not lost on him. He turned onto his side, careful to be as quiet as possible, and cradled his head in the crook of his elbow. He gazed into the darkness and tried to work out what he could possibly say to her. Coming up blank, he closed his eyes and tried to will himself to sleep, both dreading and anticipating the day to come.


	3. Pot Holders

**A/N: I will confess to mixing the events and timelines of PS I Lo… and Love, Daisies & Troubadours up to suit my own nefarious purposes. I apologize in advance if this offends anyone…**

**Pot Holders**

Lorelai was awakened early the next morning by the sound of hammering coming from her porch. She stumbled down the stairs in her pajamas and opened the front door to find Luke happily pounding away.

"Hey," she said as she stepped out onto the porch, pulling the door shut behind her.

Luke looked up and said, "Hey."

Lorelai took a step closer to him and cocked her head as she asked, "How are you today?"

Luke went back to pounding on the rail as he said, "Good, how are you?"

Lorelai nodded as she said, "Good, good. What are you doing?"

"Fixing your porch rail," Luke said with a shrug.

"That's right. You are," Lorelai said with a slightly hysterical laugh. "You're fixing my porch rail at six thirty in the morning!" she pointed out accusingly.

"It was the only time I could do it," Luke answered defensively.

"Why? Why?" she wailed.

Luke shrugged and said, "It was broken. I noticed last time I was here. It could hurt somebody."

Lorelai blew out an exasperated breath and said, "Luke, we sleep around here. Okay, we like it. It makes us pretty and keeps us from killing our crazy friends," she told him as she jabbed a finger in his direction.

Luke held up a hand to caution her to keep her voice down and said, "You're gonna wake the neighbors." He lowered the hammer to his side and asked, "How are you doing?"

Lorelai shook her head and said, "Not so good. Especially since I only got about three hours of actual sleep if you add it all together."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Caesar was opening today, and I had to get out of the apartment," he explained.

"How'd it go last night?" she asked.

Luke shook his head and said, "It went. I, uh, I'm not built like this," he said gruffly.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like this. Juggling two women, that isn't me," he hissed. "I can barely handle one, as I'm sure you'll find out if you haven't already decided that I was a nut job and written me off," he said in a frustrated tone.

Lorelai glanced back at Babette's house and said, "Uh, maybe we should step inside." She opened the front door and stepped into the foyer, holding the door handle until Luke reluctantly stepped into the entry. She looked at him closely and said, "You know, you're not doing very well with this leaving each other alone until we straighten out our lives thing."

"I know," Luke said as he hung his head. He ran his thumb absently over the head of the hammer in his hand and said quietly, "It's just that, uh, you're usually the one I talk to about stuff. And now…" he trailed off as he gestured between them helplessly.

"It's okay," Lorelai said gently. She led him over to the couch and perched on the edge of the cushion as he flopped down next to her. Lorelai scooted away from him slightly as she said, "Neither one of us wants to hurt anybody. You care about Rachel, I get that," she said sincerely. She pressed her hand to her chest and said, "I care about Max. I don't want to hurt him."

"I know you don't," Luke said as he kept his eyes focused on the hammer he still held.

Lorelai took a deep breath and said, "Someone is going to get hurt no matter what we do, Luke, and I hate that." She waited until he looked up at her and then said, "I think we both got a little, um, swept up in the idea of it. You and me," she said gently. "To tell you the truth, I still am, but I don't want either of us to feel like we have to make this happen at the expense of someone else," she said sincerely. "Max and I haven't really been seeing each other, we've been talking about it a lot, but we're nowhere near being as, uh, involved as you are with Rachel," she told him.

"I can't just break up with her, and kick her out," Luke said gruffly.

"I know you can't," she told him. "And I've had so much going on with Rory and this whole fight thing, that I've barely had time to think about Max, and what I want," she admitted. "You know, I got in my car three times to go get her. I drove halfway there and drove back, drove halfway there and drove back. I actually ran of gas driving halfway there and back," she said with a wry smile.

Luke sighed and said, "I wish I had been her for you. You must have been going out of your mind."

"I was. I still am," she admitted.

"She'll cool off and come home," Luke said confidently.

Lorelai nodded and said, "I know. Just breaking up with Dean has been so hard on her."

"Yeah," Luke commiserated.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "I just hate that she's going through this. I mean, she's such a good kid. She's so nice to everyone, she cares about everyone. And she's walking around in this unbelievable pain and there's nothing I can do about it. She still won't talk to me. She won't tell me what happened," she said sadly.

Luke started to lose his temper and hissed, "I'll tell you what happened. That Dean kid is a jerk and he finally let her know it."

Lorelai nodded in agreement and said, "I wish I could just pinch his head right off."

Luke growled, "I'll help."

Lorelai shook her head and told him, "I warned him. I warned him when I first met him, if he hurt her…" she trailed off as her breath caught. "Ah, maybe I could key his car," she suggested hopefully.

Luke nodded and suggested, "Or better yet, you can key Taylor's car and tell him Dean did it."

Lorelai's eyes widened as she said, "Yeah, that'd be good."

Warming to the idea, Luke leaned a little closer and said, "You can key Taylor's car, tell him Dean did it and also tell him that Dean littered and walks his dog without a leash."

Lorelai flashed him a grateful smile and answered, "He'll run him out of town."

"Good," Luke replied with a stern nod. Luke looked over at her affectionately and said, "You know, this is why this is good. I know I need to let you sort things out, and I need to too, but this is…" he trailed off as he gestured to her.

"Good," she answered. "Yes, it is."

Luke nodded as he pushed himself up from the couch. "I'm about done out there."

"I should just get ready for work," Lorelai said as she stood up too.

"Yeah," Luke agreed as he walked toward the front door. He turned back to her and said with quiet confidence, "Hey, she'll be home soon."

"I'll talk to you soon," Lorelai answered as he opened the door and left, closing it gently behind him.

XXXX

That afternoon, Lorelai confronted Dean in the cookie aisle at Doose's, only to find out that the boy hadn't callously dumped her daughter as she had assumed, but instead, was heartbroken when Rory didn't reciprocate his feelings. She left the market, her mind a jumble of conflicting thoughts. She studiously ignored the diner as she focused on getting home to pick up the Jeep so that she could head for Hartford to retrieve her run away daughter. As she crossed the street, Rachel called to her, jogging to catch up to Lorelai's side as she walked. "Oh, hey Rachel," Lorelai said uncomfortably as she fell into step beside her.

"Hey, have you seen Luke around?" Rachel asked, coming straight to the point.

Lorelai waved an ineffectual had in the direction of Luke's and said, "Oh, he's probably at the diner."

Rachel shook her head and said, "Nope, he's supposed to be at the diner, but he's not."

"Oh, well…" Lorelai stammered.

"We were supposed to meet for lunch, but he didn't show," Rachel told her. "I haven't laid eyes on him all day."

Lorelai blinked in surprise and whispered, "Oh."

"Yeah, yeah, he usually comes back upstairs for a break between lunch and dinner, but today he's been other places. Uh, your place actually," Rachel added, with a slight edge to her voice.

Lorelai stopped walking and said, "Oh, yeah, well, Rachel, he's just fixing some things."

Rachel nodded and said, "I know."

"The porch rail, a couple roof shingles, and then the porch rail again after he fell off the roof onto to the porch rail," Lorelai babbled as she tried not to squirm under Rachel's steady gaze.

Rachel nodded again and said, "Yeah, yeah, he called and told me."

"Good," Lorelai said with a nod of her own.

Rachel paused for a second and then said, "Look if you see him can you tell him to just, I don't know, check in."

"Yes, will do," Lorelai agreed.

"Thanks," Rachel said with a relieved smile.

"Thanks," Lorelai said, a little unsure of what she was thanking Rachel for, but anxious to make her get away.

"Bye," Rachel said as she lifted her hand in a wave.

"Bye," Lorelai called over her shoulder as she hurried toward home.

Lorelai walked through the front door, heard someone moving around upstairs, and grabbed a handy umbrella from the stand in the foyer. After nearly clobbering Luke with it as he came down the stairs, and arguing over his breaking and entering job, she dragged him into the kitchen and pushed him down into a chair. She stared down at him and crossed her arms over her chest defensively, "Rachel was looking for you today and she didn't know where you were."

"I'm not hiding from her," Luke answered quickly.

"I didn't say you were hiding from her," Lorelai retorted.

"Sounded like you were implying it," Luke grumbled.

Lorelai stared him down and said, "Well someone's sensitive about the accusation."

Luke rubbed a tired hand over his face and said, "I think I'm hiding from her."

Lorelai sat down across from him and said, "I think you are too."

Luke sighed and said, "I just don't know what to say to her."

Lorelai nodded and said, "I understand, but Luke, you can't hide from her. Especially not here," she said with a pointed stare as she gestured to the house. "Don't do that to me."

"I know, I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely.

Lorelai nodded and said, "Listen to me carefully." She took a deep breath and said, "I have to go get Rory, and talk some things out with her. I also have to talk to Max tonight." She looked up at him and said, "I know we're friends, Luke, but right now, with this, I can't be just your friend."

Luke nodded quickly as he dropped his eyes to his hands and said, "I know."

She smiled weakly as she said, "I am officially kicking you out. I don't want to see you back here until you have settled things, and I have a chance to settle things. So you understand?" she asked softly.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

Lorelai shook her head as she stood up and said, "Don't be sorry, just be sure."

Luke stood up and said, "I'll, uh, go," as he pointed to the back door. He walked over to it and gestured to the handle as he said, "I'll fix the lock too."

Lorelai nodded as she shoved her hands into her jeans pockets and said, "Good."

XXXX

Lorelai battled her way past Emily and into Rory's room at the elder Gilmore's house. She was relieved to be greeted with hug and a heartfelt apology, which opened the door for a quiet conversation about life, love and relationships. Lorelai looked at Rory with cautious concern and said, "My point is that it's scary to be in love, that much I know, but it's also wonderful and special and if you can't say it or fully express it then you're never gonna be able to experience it and I want you to experience everything that's great because you're so great. Are you hearing me?" she asked hopefully.

Rory nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm hearing you."

Lorelai smiled gently and said, "I'm not saying that you say 'I love you' at the drop of a hat. It has to be right and real and it has to take a lot of thought. But someday with someone it will be right. I want you to be ready for that moment when it happens."

Rory looked at her curiously and asked, "Are you ready for that moment when it happens?"

"I'm working on it," Lorelai answered with a little shrug.

"With Mr. Medina?" Rory asked.

Lorelai took a deep breath and said, "Rory, I never meant to keep the fact that Max and I were talking a secret from you. I just didn't say anything because you were hurt and unhappy, and I was still trying to figure out what I felt about him," she explained.

"I know," Rory told her. "Have you figured it out?" she asked.

Lorelai looked at Rory and said, "Max is a great guy. Funny, smart, caring…" she trailed off from listing his good qualities.

Rory cocked her head and said, "I sense a 'but' coming in there."

Lorelai winced slightly and then dropped her eyes to her clasped hands. "There's just something that keeps holding me back where Max is concerned," she admitted quietly.

Rory nodded and asked gently, "Is that something named Luke?"

Lorelai's head jerked up at the mention of his name. "What?" she asked incredulously.

Rory shrugged and said, "Yesterday, when we were fighting, you said that the thing with Max was complicated, and you mentioned Luke." She watched Lorelai carefully as she asked, "Did something happen between you and Luke?"

"Yes," Lorelai whispered. She then shook her head quickly and said, "No! I mean, nothing happened, happened, if that's what you mean."

"Okay," Rory said slowly.

Lorelai drew in a steadying breath and said, "The other day, some stuff happened, and Luke, well, Luke kind of admitted how he felt about me."

"Wow," Rory breathed.

Lorelai stood up to pace the room and said with a laugh, "Yeah, wow is right." She wrung her hands nervously and said, "But, you know, as soon as it was out there, something in my brain just clicked. It was like, 'Oh, yeah,' or something," she rambled.

Rory turned on the bed to watch her mother as she prowled the room and said, "That is a wow."

"It's a mess," Lorelai said as she clamped her hands to her temples and rubbed lightly. "We both needed a little time to process it, you know?" She turned to look at Rory and said, "I was coming to meet you at the bus to tell you about it, and then we fought, and it was Rachel's birthday so Luke was with her, and you ran off, and Max showed up, and now Luke is hiding out at our house."

"Okay, whoa, back up," Rory said as she held up her hand.

Lorelai shook her head and said, "This is my mess to straighten out, kid. Well, mine and Luke's," she amended. "I don't want you worrying about it. I know that you have reservations about me and Luke, and I totally understand that," she said sincerely. Lorelai laughed bitterly and said, "The past two days have been proof positive of the mess we can create, but it's out there. It's out there now, and we can't take it back, and there's nothing we can do about it," she said helplessly.

"Okay, okay," Rory said in a placating tone as she got up and crossed over to take Lorelai by the arms to steady her.

"You see, people get hurt, even when the last thing on Earth you want to do is hurt them," Lorelai said with a desperate edge to her voice. "You hurt Dean, so Dean hurt you. Luke is going to hurt Rachel, and that hurts him. I'm going to hurt Max, I know I am. You were right. I'm going to break up with him," she said in a choked voice.

"Oh, Mom," Rory said as she hugged Lorelai tightly.

"No one wants to hurt someone they care about, Rory, but it happens whether we mean to or not," Lorelai said as she sniffed back her tears. She pulled back and said, "All you can do is be true to you. If you love Dean, tell him that and ask him to understand that you were just scared." She brushed Rory's hair back, tucking it behind her ear as she smiled tremulously and said, "Its okay to be scared, everyone else is."

"And you?" Rory asked softly.

Lorelai shrugged a little and said, "I already told you what I'm going to do. I just have to wait to see if it has a happy ending after everything is said and done."

Rory nodded and said, "I think it will. It may suck getting there, but I think in the end, you'll be happy. You and Luke will both be happy," she said firmly as she gave her mother's arms a gentle squeeze.

"This is why I need you, kid. This is why we need each other," Lorelai said in a shaky voice. "You ready to come home?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm ready," Rory said as she turned and picked her backpack up off of the floor.

Lorelai looped her arm over her daughter's shoulders as she said, "Let's go home so we can learn our lessons without the Olympic judges looking on." As they walked out of the bedroom, Lorelai murmured, "I think your Grandmother is Russian, she seems determined to give me low marks."

Rory smiled as she glanced up at Lorelai and said, "I'd give you straight tens."

Lorelai gave Rory's shoulder a squeeze as she said, "That's why I need you there, kid."

XXXX

Luke walked into the diner that afternoon and found Rachel standing behind the counter wiping her hands on a towel. "Hey," he said as he scanned the empty diner. "Things been slow?" he asked.

She looked up and said, "Oh, you're back."

"Yeah, uh, I promised Mrs. Cassini I'd do a couple of things for her, she doesn't want her husband getting on a ladder anymore," he explained. "Then I dropped by the town meeting for a minute, but nothing new there," he said with a shrug.

Rachel nodded and said, "I sent Caesar home for a while, but asked him to work a split shift since I didn't know when you'd be back. He's in the back now," she told him as she moved to the end of the counter.

"Oh, well, thanks," Luke said as she stepped slowly toward her. "I had a lot of little stuff I needed to catch up on today," he said lamely. He took a deep breath and rubbed his palms together nervously as he saw her bend over to pick something up. "Rachel, we need to talk," he said in a low voice.

Rachel stepped out from behind the counter holding her duffle bag and the new leather camera bag that he had given her the day before. "No, Luke, I don't think we do, really," she said gently.

Luke stepped back, surprised by the familiar slice of pain he felt at seeing the luggage gripped tightly in her hands. "So you're leaving huh?" he asked gruffly.

"Yeah," Rachel said with a nod.

Feeling the old hurt well up inside of him, Luke asked, "Were you even gonna tell me?"

Rachel cocked her head at him quizzically as she said, "I was waiting for you to get back so I could say goodbye." When Luke said nothing, but placed a steadying hand on the back of a chair, she gave him a rueful smile and said, "You know, I always picture Stars Hollow as this magical place where nothing ever changes." She took a step closer to him and said, "Silly, huh? Everything changes. It was stupid for me to think you'd be sitting here waiting for me. Just like before."

Luke didn't look up as he said quietly, "I waited a long time."

Rachel nodded and said, "And I didn't come back. I know, Luke," she said softly. She stepped up to him and said, "I'm sure you tried, Luke, but your heart wasn't in it." When he raised shocked eyes to meet hers, she asked, "Does she know how you feel about her?" Luke's gaze skittered away as he swallowed hard, but didn't answer. Rachel nodded and said, "You should tell her. Make sure that she knows."

"I'm, I, uh," Luke stammered, trying to find the right words.

Rachel nodded and kissed him gently on the cheek before moving toward the door. She slung her new camera bag over her shoulder and opened the door. She paused to look back at him and said, "Don't wait too long to tell her, okay?"

Luke turned to look at her as he promised softly, "I won't."

Rachel smiled sadly and said, "Bye, Luke." The bells jingled as she closed the door quietly behind her and carried her bags to the rental car she had arranged earlier that day.

Luke pressed his hand to his stomach, trying to calm his jumping nerves as he watched her pull away from the curb. He moved to the window and stared until her taillights disappeared from view. Hanging his head as he rested his hands on his hips for a moment, Luke took a deep breath and then let it out as he whispered, "Okay, okay."

He looked around the empty diner, and dimly became aware of the sound of the radio playing softly in the kitchen. He skirted the end of the counter and poked his head in to see Caesar, dancing along with the music as he washed dishes. "Hey," Luke said, smirking a little as Caesar jumped and the sudsy spatula flew from his hands. He jerked his chin toward the door and said, "I still have something I need to take care of, and Rachel had to go. Can you handle it for a while more?" he asked.

"Sure thing, Boss," Caesar said with a relieved smile, glad that Luke wasn't yelling at him about the radio.

Luke nodded to the small boom box and said, "Keep it turned down," before he turned on his heel and headed for the door. Not wanting to waste time walking, he pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked his truck. He slid behind the wheel, cranked the ignition, and ignored his hammering heart as he put it in gear and drove straight to Lorelai's house.

XXXX

On the way home from Hartford, Lorelai told Rory the whole story about Luke, the pot holders he had bought for Rachel's birthday, and the horoscope that he had kept in his wallet. When she checked the answering machine, she heard a message from Max saying he'd pick her up for dinner at seven. When he named the restaurant, Lorelai winced, knowing that she was going to have to dress up for it. Forty five minutes later, she heard a knock on the door and hurried down the stairs carrying her shoes in her hand. "You're annoyingly on time again!" she called as she paused at the landing to pull one shoe on and then tried to step down again. "Ugh. Okay, stairs then shoes, stairs then shoes," she muttered as she hurried to the bottom. She pulled on the other shoe and then walked to the front door. When she pulled it open, she saw, not Max, but Luke standing on the other side. "Oh hi," she said as she took an involuntary step back.

"Hey," Luke said softly. He frowned as he took in her appearance and said, "You're all dressed up."

Lorelai glanced down at her dress and said, "Oh, I'm, uh, going out."

"Oh sorry," Luke said as he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. He glanced around the front porch and spotted the rail that he had fixed earlier. "I forgot my toolbox so I just thought I'd come pick it up," he said slowly.

Lorelai nodded to the toolbox in the entry and said, "Its right there."

"You're going out with Max?" Luke asked as he bent over to lift the toolbox.

"Uh, yeah, we're having dinner," Lorelai said with a wince.

"I see," Luke said as he straightened up. "I'll just get out of your way," he said stiffly.

Seeing the flash of pain in his eyes, Lorelai placed her hand on his arm and said, "Luke…"

Luke shook his head quickly and said, "Its okay, Lorelai. Let's just forget anything ever happened. I know that you like the guy. I mean, why would you dump a guy like him for a guy like me? I sure as hell wouldn't," he rambled, getting worked up.

"Luke," Lorelai tried to interject again.

"I don't blame you. It's all too screwed up anyway. I always screw it up," he said as he brushed past her with an angry shake of his head.

"Luke, I'm braking up with him," she blurted, hoping to get him to stop.

Luke turned back to her slowly and looked at her with a puzzled frown. "You are?" he asked in a genuinely shocked tone.

"Well, yeah," she said as she gestured to him with her palm open.

Luke scowled and asked, "You're breaking up with the guy wearing that?" as he nodded to her dress.

"What's wrong with this?" Lorelai asked as she looked down.

"That's something you wear to get a guy, Lorelai. Wearing that to dump one is just cruel," he said with a smirk.

"Was that a compliment or not, 'cause, you know, I'm not really sure," she said with a laugh.

Luke set the toolbox on the hall table and said in a low voice, "So, Rachel left."

"What?" Lorelai asked incredulously.

"That's what I was coming here to tell you. She left tonight. For good," he told her.

Lorelai looked up at him carefully and asked, "Are you okay?"

Luke grimaced a little and said, "I think, well, I know that she knows."

"Knows what?" Lorelai asked.

Luke looked down at her and said, "About us. I mean, about how I feel about you."

"She does?" Lorelai asked as they heard a tap on the door.

Max pushed the door open a bit and called, "Hello? I'd tried to be late."

Lorelai shot Luke a nervous glance as she said to Max, "Oh, and an utter failure at one minute past."

As Max stepped into the foyer, Lorelai watched the two men size each other up. "Um, so uh, Max Medina this is Luke Danes. Luke owns the diner. He has the greatest coffee," she chattered with a nervous laugh.

Max nodded and said, "Oh right. I saw you at a town meeting once."

Luke tipped his chin up as he nodded and said, "Yeah I saw you too."

"Nice to meet you," Max said with a smug smile as he stepped closer to Lorelai.

Luke eyed the smaller man warily as Lorelai shot him a pleading look. "Uh huh," he grunted.

Without taking his eyes off of Luke, Max said, "Mm hmm." He turned to Lorelai and said, "So, we should be going."

Lorelai's eyes widened slightly as she said, "Oh, yeah."

Luke nodded as he looked long and hard at Lorelai and then said, "Yeah, I 'm gonna get going. I just left my toolbox from when I was here earlier fixing things. I do a lot of little things around here for Lorelai," he told Max.

Lorelai's panic-o-meter was rising steadily as she said, "Yeah, you're very handy. So Luke, we'll talk later," she said as she pleaded to him with her eyes.

Luke nodded and said firmly, "Yes we will."

Sensing the tension in the air, Max interjected, "Although probably not tonight. We won't be back until late."

Lorelai laughed nervously and said, "No, I meant not tonight."

Max's eyebrows shot up as he said innocently, "Oh, I misunderstood."

"I meant tomorrow. So tomorrow," Lorelai said quickly as she gestured to Luke.

Luke bit his lip for a moment and then said, "Absolutely. We see each other most every day," he told Max pointedly.

Max chuckled and said dismissively, "Well sure, you've got the coffee."

"And she needs the coffee," Luke said confidently. He turned to Lorelai and said, "So, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," she confirmed with a nod.

Luke smirked and couldn't resist adding, "Same time as always."

Max draped his arm over Lorelai's shoulder and said, "I'd count on a little later."

Luke tried to keep from glaring at Max before he turned to Lorelai and said calmly, "Doesn't matter what time it is. I'll always be around," he said as he turned to leave.

"Bye," Lorelai called softly as Luke closed the door behind him.

Max rocked back on his heels as he said casually, "So, are we going?"

Lorelai eyed him cautiously as she said, "Just wanted to make sure you two were through swinging those things around. Someone's bound to lose an eye," she tried to joke.

"What are you talking about?" Max asked with feigned innocence.

Lorelai shook her head and walked into the living room as she said, "Nothing. I'll get my purse."

Max followed her, and tried for a casual tone as he said, "So, not to be blunt, but is that over?"

Lorelai froze for a second as she reached for her bag and asked, "Is what over?"

"Whatever's going on that I just walked in on," Max said impatiently.

Lorelai tried to play it off by saying, "Oh, Max, come on, that's Luke."

Max reached for her arm and asked, "Why won't you look at me, then?" When she finally raised her eyes to his, he asked again, "Is that over?"

Lorelai shook her head and said, "Nothing has happened between me and Luke." When Max continued to stare at her she whispered, "Yet."

Max let his hand drop from her arm as he stepped away from her. He shoved his hands into his pockets and asked, "Is something going to happen with you and Luke?"

"Yes," she admitted softly. "At least, I think so."

"I see," Max said as he looked down at his shoes.

"I just, Luke and I, we've been friends forever," Lorelai said lamely.

"Uh huh," Max grunted.

"It just, it just happened. I mean, nothing happened, but, uh, things changed," she said quietly.

"I see," Max said with a nod, still unable to look at her.

"I was going to talk to you about it tonight," Lorelai said with a grimace.

Max nodded as he digested her words and said, "Okay, well, wow. Not what I expected to happen tonight," he murmured as he rubbed his hand over his mouth.

"Max, I'm sorry," Lorelai said sincerely. "I like you, I really do. I don't want to hurt you," she told him.

Max nodded and said, "I see. You just can seem to help yourself," he murmured.

Lorelai's eyes widened as she said, "That's not fair. I didn't plan this."

"Maybe not, but I always seems to happen like this for us, huh?" Max asked. "Just when we get close, just when things are going well, you freak out and find any excuse to break it off," he accused.

Lorelai reared back as she said, "I'm not making excuses. Rory is my daughter. I explained how uncomfortable I felt about her attachment to you when I didn't know myself how I felt about you," she said, her temper rising. "You said you understood," she said adamantly.

"I did understand that," Max told her. He flung his hand toward the door and asked, "How about old Luke, there? Does he know that he's the excuse d' jour?" he asked angrily.

"Luke is one of the best friends that Rory and I have," Lorelai said through clenched teeth. "He has been there for us like no other man ever has. I don't need to justify my feelings, or anything else about Luke Danes to you or to anyone," she told him in a calm cool tone. "I think that you should go," she said softly.

Max nodded, realizing that he was clearly defeated, and said, "You're right, I should. Goodbye, Lorelai," Max said quietly.

"Goodbye, Max," Lorelai whispered as he turned and walked to the front door.

After it closed quietly behind him, Lorelai stood still, clutching her purse in her hands as she watched him pull out of the drive, his headlights sweeping across the lawn. She heard a soft click, and turned her head to see Rory poking her head out of her room cautiously. She smiled tiredly and said, "Heard all that, huh?"

"Yeah," Rory said as she stepped out of her room and crossed her arms over her chest protectively.

"Sorry, Sweets," Lorelai said with an apologetic shrug before she dropped down onto the couch and buried her face in her hands.

Rory sat down next to her and wrapped her arms around her mother. After a moment, she quoted softly, "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove."

Lorelai raised her head slowly from her hands and turned to look at her daughter incredulously as she asked, "Shakespeare? Now, Miss Brainiac?"

"It's appropriate," Rory said defensively. "It means that if what Luke has with Rachel and you had with Max was really love, nothing could change that. Certainly not a four year old horoscope torn from a newspaper," Rory said simply.

Lorelai's eyes softened as she smiled tremulously and said, "Sometimes it's good to have a brainy daughter."

"Was that Luke I heard earlier?" Rory asked gently.

Lorelai nodded and a said, "He came by to tell me that Rachel had left."

Rory nodded and said, "Oh, wow."

"Yep, eventful night," Lorelai said with a smirk.

Rory looked at her mother with hopeful eyes and asked, "So, no impediments?"

Lorelai blinked slowly as she said, "No. No impediments."

Rory nodded as she pulled away and gave her mother a stern look. "What are you waiting for? Are you chicken?"

"Now?" Lorelai asked with a frown.

Rory shrugged and said, "He wants to be with you, you want to be with him. Why wait? Go get him."

"Go get him," Lorelai repeated.

Rory nodded and said, "Hurry, before the stars are out of alignment."

"Just go get him," Lorelai said as she smoothed her palms over the skirt of her dress.

"Yep," Rory said with a nod.

"Okay," Lorelai said as she blew out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Okay, she said in a more decisive tone as she stood up. She picked up her purse again and dug for her keys. "Stars are in alignment," she muttered with an unladylike snort. She looked up suddenly and asked, "Have we got a newspaper?"

"Just the Star's Hollow Gazette," Rory answered slowly.

"I need it," Lorelai said as she hurried to the kitchen and began to rummage through a stack of magazines waiting to be recycled.

"Today's is on the table," Rory said as she followed her mother into the room.

Lorelai opened the paper and flipped to the second to last page. With a trembling hand she tore out the section under Scorpio. "Pen, I need a pen," she muttered.

"On it," Rory said as she dashed into her room. She reappeared and held a purple glitter pen out to Lorelai.

"Purple?" Lorelai asked as she looked at it critically.

"First one I could find," Rory said with a shrug.

Lorelai smiled as she uncapped the pen and hastily scrawled over the Sagittarians' horoscope. She picked up the scrap of paper, kissed Rory's cheek and said, "Wish me luck!" as she hurried to the door, keys in hand.

"Good luck," Rory called after her, and then frowned when Lorelai abruptly reversed directions. "What?" she asked anxiously.

Lorelai hooked the small shopping bag that had been sitting on the desk with on finger, shrugged and said, "You never know," as she hurried to the foyer and out of the door.

She climbed into the Jeep and backed out of the driveway without even looking. She zoomed to the center of town, and screeched to a halt in front of the diner. When the bells announced her arrival, Caesar stepped from the kitchen with an armful of plates to deliver. "Caesar, is Luke here?" Lorelai asked breathlessly.

"Luke! You have a visitor!" Caesar called into the kitchen. "He'll be out," Caesar said as he went to deliver the order.

Lorelai perched on the edge of the first stool, holding her purse in one hand and the horoscope and shopping bag in the other. When Luke stepped out of the kitchen, he blinked in surprise and said, "I thought that you were going to dinner."

Lorelai shook her head and said, "Never even made it out of the door."

Luke scowled and said, "I'd like to say I'm sorry, but I'm not."

"So, I have something for you," Lorelai said with a tentative smile.

"You do?" Luke asked.

"Cost you a cup of coffee," she bartered.

Luke nodded and said, "Pretty steep, but okay." He poured a mug of coffee and slid it in front of her as his eyebrows lifted expectantly.

Lorelai dropped her purse to the ground and reached for the mug, taking a fortifying sip. As she placed it back on the counter she said, "Okay, I'll give you a choice."

"Okay," Luke said slowly as he placed his hands on his hips, and watched her warily.

"You can either have these," Lorelai said as she placed the shopping bag holding the meowing cat pot holders on the counter, smiling as he shuddered at the sight. "Or this," she said as she slid a slip of newsprint across the counter to him.

Luke picked up the scrap and read it carefully, his smile growing as he murmured, "Scorpio, lady luck seems to be smiling on you these days. This is your time, live your life to the fullest, take what you can get, and give all that you can." He glanced up at her and then dropped his eyes to the purple scrawl beneath the horoscope. "Here is an annoying woman. If you want her, you'd better kiss her now," he read aloud. Luke reached out, cupping the back of her head as he bent over the counter and kissed her softly on the lips. He pulled away, his eyes locked on hers as he said softly, "I want her."

"Good," Lorelai answered. "It's been a hell of a night. I think I may need a cheeseburger. With bacon," she added.

Luke nodded and said, "Coming right up." He looked up at the sound of a chair falling over, and saw Kirk running from the diner at full speed, heading directly for Miss Patty's studio. He smirked as he looked down at Lorelai and said, "It's about to get more hellish. I'll put some chili on your fries."

"I'd appreciate that," Lorelai said with a nod as she lifted her coffee mug and smiled at him over the rim.

Finito


End file.
